Getting out of the house, a Green Mountain Hike

Today is a day that I feel more like a mother than anything else.  A mama who is trying to work from home, part-time, while taking care of a very high energy baby who demands my time and protests loudly when she doesn't get what she wants.  Its hard.  I struggle.  
This week has been particularly hard, you can read more about that here if you'd like, but Magnolia is cutting a couple of teeth and when she is in pain, she just screams constantly despite whatever I try to do to give her relief.  Today, after a morning full of no naps and cranky-ness, I decided we needed to get out of the house; I grabbed the ergo and filled my camelback with some water and we jumped in the car to go to Green Mountain to find a trail.  
I had planned on hiking at a different trail, one that you can find on my blog here, but I missed my turn and ended up at the same trail that I hiked just days before Magnolia was born last November.  
When we first started hiking, Magnolia was very happy and we happily walked along, talked about the trees and birds, and she babbled about how much teething really hurts.  Of course, the happy mood didn't last long and soon she was fussing and squirming in the carrier, which quickly escalated into screaming.  We stopped and had a snack, which helped some, but eventually I had to put her back in the carrier so that we could hike back to the car.  She fussed and babbled throughout the hike back and even though her mood didn't really change, mine did.  I was able to get outside, do something that I like, and teach my child a little bit about nature in the process.   

Getting there:   The best way to give directions is to give the address; S Holman St at Flora Way, Golden, CO.  Here is the google map of the location.  Park on the side of the road, you will see the path in the greenbelt of Green Mountain.  
Specs:  There are no facilities, hiking maps, just a trail.  

The Hike: Magnolia and I hit the trail and our day immediately got better, she babbled happily and I told her about the last time we were here, I was pregnant, it was fall, the weather was beautiful and the trees golden.  This hike, I chose to go east at the trail split, toward the city and we hiked to the top of the large bluff shown in photos below with great views of the city and the mountains.  We continued down the bluff and kept walking east until Magnolia got squirmy then we headed back toward the car.  We only got about an hour hike, but it was worth it to get outside and share some time with my daughter, maybe I taught her something new and hopefully she enjoyed the experience, I know that I did.  I started the hike very frustrated and ended it much calmer. 

 Start of trail.  

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 For a few minutes anyway, the camelback hose was a great chew toy. 

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 The bluff you can see from the road; its much bigger than it looks in this photo, I promise. 

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 Views looking west from the top of the bluff, table mountain, the storm rolling in, and the Flatirons can be seen.  

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 Views of the City of Denver

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 Cactus in bloom

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Snack on the trail. 

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Hike still ended in screams. 

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Even though her mood didn't change, mine did, and getting outside and doing something that I love makes me feel better.  Hiking with kids is not always perfect, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be tried, and for some reason, on the trail, a temper tantrum doesn't bother me nearly as much as it does at home.  

Moms, do you get outside and hike?